Stas Misezhnikov (; born 28 February 1969) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for

Yisrael Beiteinu Yisrael Beiteinu (, ) is a conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may ...

and as the country's

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) *Ministry of Touri ...

Biography

Born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(today in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

), Misezhnikov

emigrated to Israel ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described ...

on 7 September 1982. He attended high school in

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

. After finishing his military service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, he studied at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

, earning a BA in Social and Political Sciences in 1992 and an MA in Business Administration and Marketing in 2000. Between 1997 and 1999 he worked as a parliamentary aide in the Knesset, and then from 1999 until 2006 as a marketing manager at

Clalit Clalit, (, General Health Services; previously – , General Sick Fund), is the largest of Israel's four state-mandated health service organizations, charged with administering health care services and funding for its members. (All Israeli citize ...

. In 2003 he became a member of Rishon LeZion city council, on which he served until 2006. For the 2006 Knesset elections he was placed sixth on the Yisrael Beiteinu list, and became a Knesset member when the party won 11 seats. He retained his seat in the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum ...

, for which he was placed third on the party's list. Following the election he was appointed Minister of Tourism in

Binyamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

's government. The Israeli Embassy in Madrid called his visit to Spain an embarrassment after Misezhnikov allegedly canceled a dinner with business contacts in favor of private partying. Misezhnikov hotly denied the charge, claiming he was stuck at a Holocaust memorial event. There was further controversy in October 2010 when Misezhnikov was accused of politicizing a forthcoming

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

tourism conference in Jerusalem, when he stated that by holding a meeting in Jerusalem, the OECD recognized the city as Israel's capital. The Israeli government intervened and the head of the

Committee on Jerusalem called Misezhnikov as a "diplomatic neophyte". In the aftermath of the

2012 Burgas bus bombing The 2012 Burgas bus bombing was a terrorist attack carried out by a suicide bomber on a passenger bus transporting Israeli tourists at the Burgas Airport in Burgas, Bulgaria, on 18 July 2012. The bus was carrying 42 Israelis, mainly youths, fr ...

, Misezhnikov traveled to Bulgaria in an effort to maintain its tourism connections with Israel. He met with Prime Minister

Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov (, born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria on three separate occasions, serving a total of 9 years between 2009 and 2021, making him the country's longest-serving post-communi ...

and President

Rosen Plevneliev Rosen Asenov Plevneliev (, born 14 May 1964) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the 4th President of Bulgaria from 2012 to 2017. Affiliated with the GERB party, he previously served as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works fro ...

. On 4 December 2012, it was announced that Misezhnikov would not be a candidate for the

2013 Knesset elections Early legislative elections were held in Israel on 22 January 2013 to elect the 120 members of the nineteenth Knesset. Public debate over the Tal Law had nearly led to early elections in 2012, but they were aborted at the last moment after Kadi ...

. Misezhnikov is married to Hila and is a father of three. He lives in Rishon LeZion.

Controversy

A Channel 2 report cited anonymous former bodyguards of Misezhnikov's who claimed that the minister regularly went out drinking and attended

strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...

s. They also alleged that Misezhnikov nightlife habits caused him to miss an emergency

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

meeting on the

Gilad Shalit Gilad Shalit (, ''Gilˁad Šaliṭ'' ; born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who, on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Ham ...

negotiations. Misezhnikov denied the allegations and claimed he had been cleared of wrongdoing in an investigation by the Israeli Civil Service Commission.

Corruption case

Misezhnikov was one of the Yisrael Beiteinu officials indicted for corruption and other crimes as part of Israel's 'Case 242' investigation. His charges included a ''

quid pro quo ''Quid pro quo'' (Latin: "something for something") is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "a favor for a favor". Phrases with similar meanings include: " ...

'' exchange of funding for a student festival in 2012 on the conditional employment of Misezhnikov's romantic partner, as well as

straw purchase A straw purchase or nominee purchase is any purchase wherein an agent agrees to acquire a good or service for someone who is often unable or unwilling to purchase the good or service themselves, and the agent transfers the goods or services to th ...

s of cocaine by Misezhnikov through his ministerial aides. Misezhnikov entered a plea deal for all charges in October 2017 and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. On 17 December 2017, he arrived at Hermon Prison in the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

to begin serving his sentence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Misezhnikov, Stas 1969 births Living people Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Ministers of tourism of Israel Politicians from Moscow Soviet emigrants to Israel Soviet Jews Tel Aviv University alumni Yisrael Beiteinu politicians Israeli politicians convicted of crimes